Love Remains
by OakHillsDrive
Summary: Part 2 of "Voices from the Heart" While this is a solo version this time out, I hope it remains true to the feel of the the original written with BigWTBfan
1. Done Pretending

It was all so much like a movie. After Jonathan left to go home, Tony and Angela found themselves alone once again in the waiting room. They stood in silence, but the peace that came with it was wonderful. It felt a little awkward, trying to find the words, the answers to questions so long buried. And although there was everything to say and catch up on, the silence for now was enough. As the seconds turned into minutes, they found themselves walking hand in hand down the hall, gazing up at each other and then down at the floor every few steps.

Angela smiled as a nervous giggle came to her lips when they entered the elevator.

"What's with the grin?" Tony said taking comfort in her giddiness.

"This whole thing. I feel like Meg Ryan at the end of Sleepless in Seattle. Finally happy to be with the man she. . ."

Instead of finishing her sentence this time, she let her silence say the rest. He smiled as the elevator doors closed behind them. He knew what she wanted to say, but there would be time enough for words. Right now just the proximity to her was enough.

When they reached his rental car, Tony walked her to the passenger side door and opened it for her. After helping her into the car, he strolled around the back of the car and popped open the trunk.

With the trunk door open, Angela had a second to look at herself in the vanity mirror. Quickly, she ran her fingers through her hair and pinched up her cheeks to restore a little color to them. The driver side door opened and Tony sat down next to her. She tried to avoid his gaze for a moment, after now seeing what she looked like, but she didn't have to.

"This is for you." Tony said, as she turned to see he was holding a single pink rose in his hand.

"Oh, Tony. . .but when. . ."

"I had time. . .too much time." He said with half a smile.

Softly, she reached up and let her hand fall against his cheek. She knew what he meant. As she took the rose from him, Tony turned the key in the ignition and put the car in reverse. Before he took his foot off the brake, he turned to her and smiled again.

"So. . . where do we go from here?"

Sam placed another bowl in the sink of hot, suddy water. It was 8AM Pacific time and although breakfast had been over and done with a half hour before, the dishes had had to wait until Sam and Hank had finished cleaning up after Hank Jr's latest solid food tossing disaster. They had cleaned oatmeal off walls, bananas off the floor and at one point, Sam had to sit on Hank's shoulders to reach the last of the lingering orange juice.

"Oh the joys of motherhood." Samantha whispered to herself as she scrubbed the bowl and put it in the rinse water.

"You're telling me." From behind her, she felt the strong arms of her husband wrap themselves around her waist. He leaned down and began kissing a small part of her neck.

"Hank. If you're going to stand here, I would appreciate some help."

"I'm trying to help," he said lifting her hair to kiss behind her ear.

"I don't mean that kind of help." She said turning to face him, flicking her soapy hands in his direction.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, blindly reaching for a dish towel and trying to wipe stray bubbles from his cheeks. "Remember, I've already done my two percent for today," he said pointing to the ceiling.

"I'll give you two percent." From beside the sink, she grabbed a wet dish towel and wrapped it around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

"You're getting me all wet." He said trying to get out from under the dripping towel.

"I thought you wanted to help." As she asked the question, she couldn't help but laugh. Grabbing him once again, they stood locked in a sweet kiss until Sam felt a tug on the back of her jeans.

"Jon-ton!" Sam turned around and saw Little Hank trying to get his parents attention.

"Uncle Jonathan?" Sam asked as she knelt down to talk to her son at almost eye level.

"Yeah, Mom." Marie explained as she walked up to the group. "Uncle Jon wants you to call him."

"What?" Hank asked looking for a clue on his daughter's face.

"That's what I said, when you two were making out," Marie said rolling her eyes. "Your phone buzzed, so I picked it up. There was a text from Uncle Jon saying he had to talk to you. That it was super important."

"Okay, okay." Sam grabbed the cordless handset from the wall and walked into Hank's office where she could be alone.

With a little trepidation, she dialed her unofficial brother's number. Hearing from him so soon worried her. As it was, she was always the one to call him. If they spoke or got together it was usually phone calls between she and his wife, Emma, first. She had spoken to him only a few days before.

Ring.

"Sam," Jonathan said on the other end of the line before Samantha had a chance say hello.

"Jon. Marie said you called. Is something wrong?"

"Actually, yes. I know you and Hank are planning on coming out here week after next for that visit with your in-laws. But I think Mom would really appreciate it if you changed your plans."

"Oh no." Sam said when she realized exactly what he meant. "When?" Sam asked as she took a seat at the computer.

"This morning. Around ten thirty our time."

"Jon. . .," she paused as she looked at the clock on the wall. "How's Angela doing?"

"Well. . .actually. That was the other thing I was calling about."

"What do you mean?"

"Well. . . she's doing surprisingly well."

"Are you there with her? Can I talk to her?"

"Actually, I left her at the hospital."

"Jon? How could you leave Angela alone at a time like this?"

"She's not alone."

"Mona's with her then. Well, have her give me a call."

"Sam, will you let me finish explaining. She's with a friend."

"Fine. Who then?"

"Her other best friend."

Sam sat for a minute with her hand over her mouth and tried to compose herself as the daydream she'd been having for the last fifteen years began to wash over her again. Without having to wait for his confirmation, Sam smiled through the tears now streaming down her face.

"I assume you're going to see him tonight?"

"Yes."

"Well. . .when you do. . .can you please tell my Dad I love him and . . . that it's about time?"


	2. All We Have Lost

"So. . .where do we go from here?"

As they drove, that question seemed to replay over and over again in her head. She knew with that question he wasn't just asking her for directions to her apartment. She knew he was talking, asking, pleading just as much as she was to know the answer to so much more.

She's still so beautiful, he thought to himself, as he tried to keep his eyes on the road. Her hands. . so small and frail, but her smile. . . The ease with which she still smiled comforted him, helping him to know that even in their years apart she'd found happiness in her life.

She caught herself staring at him as they neared her apartment, wondering how he could have aged so much. Looking at him now, she realized how much time had really past. The lines on his cheeks and the Crow's feet near his eyes were etched deeper. His hair was salt and peppered now, short and fuzzy like the day they had first shared their feelings. He looked so much more handsome than she remembered. It seemed, as she caught herself staring at him, that she had dreamed their separation. It was like Meg and Tom had said in the movie, "It was like 'Magic.'"

"Turn here." She said as they finally approached the ramp to her spot in the parking garage. "My space is 5B."

Tony slowly braked and placed the car in park when they arrived at the space. A little nervously, he leaned in to turn off the ignition. With his hand still on the key, he worked up the courage to face her.

"Angela, I have to tell you how sor. . ."

But before he could finish, Angela reached up and put her hand on his. "Tony, before you say another word can I ask you a question?"

"Yes, of course."

"Do you still love me?"

"I almost can't remember I time now when I didn't."

"Then I don't want you to feel sorry. . . about anything."

She pulled his hand to her lips and slowly kissed it as she closed her eyes.

He took his hand from her grasp and placed it on her cheek. How soft and smooth it was, almost as if it yearned to be touched. He noticed as his hand made its way to her hands sitting in her lap that she tried to reach up to open her door with her right one.

"Uh-uh. That's my job."

As they approached the door to the apartment, Angela struggled to remember where she had left her keys and then realized she could simply knock.

"Did you forget these?" Hanna, Peter's nurse, said a little tearfully as she opened the door twirling Angela's keys around her finger.

"Yes, Hanna. Thank you so much. I take it Jonathan called you?"

"Yes, and I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, Hanna." The twosome walked through the doorway and found themselves the object of Hanna's persistent gawking. "Is there something wrong, Hanna?" Angela said as she slipped her shoes off at the door.

"I guess I'm surprised. Peter told me he'd be coming, but I honestly didn't believe him."

"Have we met?" Tony said, a little surprised at the revelation.

"I'm sorry," Angela said introducing them. "This is Hanna, Peter's nurse."

"And you are Angela's Tony." Hanna said with air of relief.

Angela blushed a little and tried to find the words, "How did you know about. . ."

"Him? Peter mentioned him a few times. And I can see now, why he was so hard to get over." Hanna said with a wink in Tony's direction.

"It's nice to meet you too." He said taking her hand for a gentle kiss.

"Yup. Really hard to get over." Hanna smiled. "Angela, you don't need me here anymore so I. . ."

"Hanna, I want you to stay as long as you need to."

"That's really sweet of you. The agency should have me set up with a new family within the next two weeks."

"Then two weeks it is."

"I'm going to start making the arrangements to have Peter's medical rentals picked up."

"That would be nice, Hanna. I don't think I could have handled this time without you."

"Something tells me you'd get through it ok," she said winking at Tony. "I'll go start making the calls."

"You go do that," a sarcastic smile coming to Angela's face.

Once Hanna was out of the room, Tony whispered, "So what's the deal with Helga the Amazon Woman?"

"Oh, Hanna? I guess she and Peter spoke more than I realized." She let herself giggle for a moment. "It's so funny that you called her that. That's always been Jonathan's name for her."

"Really? I mean, honestly, who wouldn't. Ma' dona mi, with those muscles she looks like she could have walked right out of the Amazon jungle." She giggled a little more, only to find herself staring into his eyes once again. "Tony, why don't you make yourself at home. . . I was in middle of a shower when we had to call the paramedics last night and I would love to finish it."

"I'll be fine here. You take your time."

"If you need me, I'll be through that door at the end of the hall."

"I'll be fine." He said quite calmly, but as she turned to leave, he took her hand and held it tightly, not wanting to let her out of his sight.

"I'll be right back," she said squeezing his hand in return.

"I know." Tony watched her walk down the hall and disappear through a door at the end of it.

Finding himself alone, Tony looked around the living room. At first glance something seemed a little out of place. He had never been there before and yet he felt like something was missing. The something missing was Angela. As he walked around the apartment, he thought about how much it looked like a bachelor pad. There weren't any of the homey touches to it he would have assumed Angela would have added to the place. There were a few knick knacks here and there, but nothing that he was sure the Angela he knew would have chosen. It didn't seem like the home of a married couple. It just seemed more like one of a man caught up in memories of the past. It made him think of his own apartment back home.

"Home?" He thought out loud. "Boy, was I wrong." He continued walking around the room and found himself drawn to a set of bookshelves that looked oddly out of place in the apartment. It was painted pink and white and filled with an assortment of teddy bears, "Barbie" dolls and "My Little Ponies." They looked little they had been gently played with, but not in years.

"Those belonged to Anne." A voice behind Tony said. Tony turned to see Hanna exiting the bedroom with a laundry basket full of sheets to take down to the laundry.

"Anne?" Tony said gently running his fingers down the pink hair of one of the ponies. Just then a thought dawned on him. "Angela had a daughter? Where is she?"

"Tony, she wasn't Angela's. She was Peter's. She and her mother, Charlotte, Peter's wife, passed away twelve years ago."

"What?" The shock and confusion was written all over his face.

"You really don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

"Know about how Angela and Peter became a couple?"

"I heard they were dating and that they were talking about getting married, but that's the last I let myself hear about it. I guess I purposely kept myself in the dark. Knowing she was happy was all that I needed to know."

"My goodness, you two are perfect for each other."

"What?"

"Come here. Let me show you something." She said motioning towards the hallway.


	3. A Thousand Times

"Let me show you something." Hanna waved in the direction she wanted to Tony to follow. She started walking down the hall that Angela had gone down and as they approached the middle of it, Tony noticed that he was actually walking through an open door way. As they took a few more steps Tony realized he was walking into the mirror image of the apartment he had just left. While Peter's apartment had been filled with furniture and clearly defined a man's tastes, this living room was dark and empty, except for the boxes that lined the walls.

"I don't understand."

"Six months ago, when Peter's cancer progressed to stage 4, Angela bought this apartment next door to him. At first, begin right next door was enough, but as his illness progressed she wanted to be able to be within ear shot. She had them break down that wall right there and install a door so she could get to him quickly, if and when he needed her. Her own bedroom's through that door," she said as she pointed to the door Angela had entered.

"What?" Tony asked in disbelief.

Hanna put down the laundry basket she had been carrying and spent the next few minutes telling Tony the story the way Peter had told it to her several weeks before. She spoke of their meeting on the train that day and how they had found comfort in each other through both their loses. She told Tony about how they had actually started making those wedding plans that Tony had heard about, but that when it all came down to it they realized they were better friends than anything else. And even though they had grown to love each other, their memories of love past had kept them from letting themselves love each other that completely.

"So they were never married?" Tony questioned.

"No, never. They were only ever friends, nothing more." Hanna said the words, wishing she could pull them back when she saw the look of pain they caused to come onto his face.

"I was such a fool." Tony said as he turned to look at the bare and darkened walls.

"Tony, I know that we've barely met and that I don't know you from Adam, but I think you should know that Peter needed Angela. Not, that you didn't, but he wouldn't have lasted another day if it hadn't been for her. Angela doesn't know this, and he made me promise never to tell her, but that day she met him on the train. . .she saved his life. He told me that he was actually on his way to do something drastic and that if she hadn't found him, he probably would have succeeded. He told me that she gave him a reason to feel alive again. A reason to live again."

"Oh, Hanna." Tony said dropping his head. "All this time. . . all this time I've been eating myself up. . .being jealous about something. . . that I had no right to. . .

"Tony, how could you have known. . ."

Tony walked over to the door to Angela's bedroom and pressed his forehead to it. "I guess I could have been brave enough to ask. I thought not knowing was easier. . "

"Tony. All you have know is that she is there. . . now. . . waiting for you behind that door. She's only a few feet away. You've come this far. . .don't you think you can find the courage to take a few more steps?"

Hanna leaned down and picked the basket once again. With a smile, she turned to walk down the hall back to Peter's apartment.

From behind the door, Tony could hear the shower turn off and he knew it wouldn't be long before Angela came out to meet him again. Hearing the news that they had never been married, saddened him a little, but at the same time made him want to take her in his arms and never let her go. She had been a friend to someone who needed her and yet somehow, had still found a way to love him in spite of her fears.

He was getting anxious waiting for her, as if the fifteen years spent without each other was now being taken up waiting for her to come out of the room. He had to occupy himself and it was driving him crazy.

"Hey, Angela?"

"Yes, Tony?" She asked through the door.

"Do you mind if I use your computer?"

"Not at all, it's in the room to the right of the kitchen."

"Thanks."

"I'll be ready in about five minutes."

"No rush," he lied.

The hallway to the study was just like the other rooms. Unopened boxes and treasures kept under wrap. Making his way through the maze, he found a quiet little office nestled in the back of the apartment. It appeared that this was one of the only rooms she had taken time to decorate. Although it wasn't her study back in Connecticut, he could see her signature taste all over it. It was tiny but the flowered wallpaper was enough to give the room the feel of her. He made his way around to the back of the computer desk and opened up her laptop. It was still set in hibernation mode, so he rubbed his finger across the touch pad to "wake it up." As he waited for the familiar Microsoft chime, he looked up at the wall and found a poster of the picture that Angela had left for him in Iowa. It almost gave him goose bumps to know that the same picture he was looking at everyday was also still looking down on her.

The picture on the monitor's screen changed and Angela's personal background flashed on. There was the picture of the threesome in happier times with Mona's tell-tale finger still in the shot.

As his eyes drifted to the person on Angela's left, a smile came to Tony's face as he finally recognized the man in the picture. There he was, the man from his dream, the man who had urged him to go to her. It had been almost seventeen years since the last time he'd seen Peter and now the idea of knowing who he was but not recognizing him clicked.

"You know, Tony. Or at least you will." Peter had said to Tony in the dream. "You'll remember me when the time is right. And when you do, just know. . . you have my blessing."

"So I have your blessing, huh?" He asked the image on the screen with a smile.

"Whose blessing?" Angela said peeking in the doorway.

As his eyes left the monitor and settled on her face, he couldn't help but feel a burning in his chest. Her silhouette in the doorway was lit up from the hallway light behind her. Every curve and line of the dress was accentuated by the darkness in the study. She was wearing one of her light knee length spring dresses that that flattered her slim frame. The small elbow length sweater she wore made her look as if she'd just stepped out of the fifties. And yes, she was a little older and a little more delicate but she was still the woman of his dreams. In the split second that it took to take her presence in, the burning in his chest confirmed to him that she was his, always had been and always would be. It took every ounce of resilience he had to calmly walk around the desk and stand, just stand next to her. But once he was there, all patience fled and he found himself leaning in until his face was close enough that she could feel his breath on her lips.

"May I?" He whispered with all the chivalry he could muster, caressing her face in his hands.

Before she had the courage to answer, she let her lips meet his.

The kisses in the doorway appeared to stop time and it seemed as if hours later Tony opened his eyes and read the clock on the wall.

"Angela. . .," he said tenderly between kisses. "It's one-thirty. . .If we don't. . .go now. . . We won't be back. . . in time to. . .meet Em and Jon. . ."

She wanted to question him, as to where they might be going so early that would take so long. Finally gathering the courage to pull herself away from him, she found the answer in his eyes. She knew exactly where they were headed. She knew the way she knew a winning ten million dollar campaign. In those next few seconds, without even realizing it, they found themselves speaking a language all their own.

"But why Connecticut?" She asked, but soon the answer dawned on her. "Oh yeah, the waiting period in New York."

"Twenty-four hours is too long to wait. I don't think I could bear another night without you." He said kissing her cheek.

"So you've been?"

"For the last fifteen years." He said taking her hand as he lead her toward the front door.

"I've been planning this since the night I received. . ."

"The Best New Teacher of the Year Award?"

"How did. . "

"Sam told me about the award." She said with a smile. "And if it's not to late, Congratulations."

"You probably would have said it sooner if I hadn't gotten stranded in Chicago that night."

"Storms?"

"It took me two days to get a plane and the only direction they were still flying was west."

"So you didn't come?"

"I figured it was an omen, a really stupid one at that." As they stood at Angela's front door, Tony paused and reached up and brushed her bangs from her eyes. "I can't tell you how many nights since I have dreamed of me knocking on your door in that tuxedo and having you opening it in your pink bathrobe. Like you did that very first time."

As she struggled to hold back her emotion, a single tear found its way down her cheek. Feeling the same agony himself, he leaned in and kissed her tear, preventing it from falling any further.

"I love you, Angela." He whispered into her ear.

"And I love you." She said as her cheek brushed his. She reached out to grab the door handle, but in the back of her mind words of a subtle reminder surfaced. "Before we leave, can you. . ."

"Hurry," he said not wanting to be a part from her for a second.

She turned as quickly as she could and ran back into her bedroom. As he watched her go, a peacefulness over took him. It was a feeling he hadn't felt in years. He was doing what he had truly been meant to do for the first time in a long time and the joy he felt in the moment was completely overwhelming.

She returned as quickly as she left, with her purse over her shoulder and a black velvet box in her hand.

"I thought we might need these." She said revealing the fifteen year old wedding ring set.


End file.
